Delhi HC tells MCD to give building to house inmates of Asha Kiran

The Delhi high court on Monday directed the commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to hand over one of its buildings in the nursing college building, Primary Health Centre complex at Narela, to the Delhi government’s social welfare department so that inmates of the Asha Kiran shelter home for the intellectually challenged may be shifted there.
A bench led by acting chief justice Manmohan and justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued the directions after the social welfare secretary informed the court that the commissioner had agreed to hand over the building subject to the approval of MCD House, which may take up to two months.
“Keeping in view that Asha Kiran houses 928 inmates against the capacity of 570, and there is an urgent need to decongest the centre, and that the approval of the full MCD house and standing committee will take considerable time, this court directs MCD commissioner to hand over MCD’s building of the nursing college and hostel to the department of special welfare so that after making changes, inmates of Asha Kiran Home can be shifted,” the court said in its order, while adjourning the matter for September 13.
The court was responding to a plea filed by Samadhan Abhiyan, an NGO seeking constitution of an independent committee headed by a retired high court judge to conduct a court-monitored probe into the deaths or a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The petition had also sought directions to the Delhi government to conduct a social security audit of all shelter homes run by it to put out an actual and correct picture of the social impact and the living conditions in them. The petition, filed by advocates Abhigyan Siddhant and Anurag Sahay, said that the inquiry which the Delhi government has ordered to be conducted by its additional chief secretary cannot be said to be impartial as the government is in direct control of the shelter home as well as the Delhi Jal Board. The plea said that the Delhi government is trying to be a judge in its own cause, which cannot be allowed.
On Wednesday, the high court had directed the secretary to take immediate steps and seek requisite clearances for hiring medical and non-medical staff at the shelter home. The court had said that the department should act with “alacrity” for providing infrastructure at the shelter home and should not get lost in the procedure. The bench had said that the need of the hour was to address the issues of “decongestion” and “filling of vacant posts”.
During the hearing on Monday, Delhi government’s social welfare secretary said that the department had filled the vacant posts of medical and non-medical staff. He also submitted that the department with a view to accommodate 10 female inmates had converted one store room at Asha Jyoti Home to a dormitory and has also decided to shift 40 female inmates suffering from mild and moderate cases to Shehzada Bagh FRRO centre within a week’s time. The secretary had also added that the department of social welfare had sanctioned ₹4,30,35,000 in May 2023 for a home for 50 intellectually challenged patients in Dallupura and had even submitted a proposal for administrative approval and expenditure sanction of ₹98.22 crore for construction of a new home for intellectually challenged residents with a capacity of 456 residents in Mamurpur, Narela.
The negligent conditions at the Asha Kiran shelter home in Rohini, north Delhi, emerged in media reports on XX. The Delhi government ordered a magisterial inquiry into the case while lieutenant governor VK Saxena directed chief secretary Naresh Kumar to take action against the administrator of the facility and bring out a white paper on the running of all homes by the social welfare, and women and child departments and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board within three weeks
According to the report submitted by the social welfare secretary to the LG on August 2, at least 28 inmates have died at the shelter home since January 2024. Of the 14 who died in July, 13 people were adults and one was a minor.
Revenue minister Atishi ordered an investigation, directing the additional chief secretary to submit a report within 48 hours. She also directed officers to recommend measures to prevent such occurrences.